Troopship type airplane seat structure



R. B. EVANS ETAL 2,700,412

Jan. 25, 1955 TROOPSHIP TYPE AIRPLANE SEAT STRUCTURE 4 Sheets-Sheet 1Original Filed Sept. 15, 1944 v 68 in arp IN VEN TORIS.

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Jan. 25, 1955 R. B. EVANS ETAL TRQOPSHIP TYPE AIRPLANE SEAT STRUCTURE 4Sheets-Sheet 3 Original Filed Sept. 15, 1944 LII FTTORNEY Jan. 25, 1955R. B. EVANS ETAL 12 TRO0PS HIP TYPE AIRPLANE SEAT STRUCTURE OriginalFiled Sept. 15, 1944 v 4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

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d States Patent t TROOPSHIP TYPE AIRPLANE SEAT STRUCTURE Robert B.Evans, Grosse Pointe Shores, and Sulo Michael Nampa, Detroit, Mich,assignors to Evans Products Company, Plymouth, Mich., a corporation ofDelaware Original application September 15, 1944, Serial No. 554,203,now Patent No. 2,556,076. Divided and this application May 1, 1951,Serial No. 223,976

4 Claims. (Cl. 155-5) The present invention relates to seat structuresand is particularly directed to the provision of improved seatstructures having flexible back and seat portions and being readilyfoldable and removable and constructions which can be convertibly usedas beds, bunks, or litters and as multiple seats. The presentapplication is a division of the inventors copending application, SerialNo, 554,203, filed September 15, 1944, now Patent No. 2,556,076.

Principal objects of the invention are to provide constructions of theabove type, which are extremely simple in construction, economical ofmanufacture and assembly, and light in weight, which are readilyconvertible as aforesaid and which may be readily installed in andremoved from associated structures, such for example as transportaircraft; to provide such constructions which, when utilized as a bed,afford a surface of desirable width and which, when utilized as a seat,provide a seat of desirably less depth; to provide such constructionswhich define a longitudinally extending bed surface, having spaced siderails and which further define a plurality of seat backs which extendupwardly from the bed surface in the region adjacent one of the rails;to provide such constructions in which the seat backs are secured to theseat surface at points between the aforesaid rails, whereby to affordthe aforesaid difference between the effective width of the structure asa bed and the effective depth of each of the seats afforded by thestructure; to provide such constructions wherein the seat backs canconveniently be released from associated upper supports and be foldeddown, in converting the structure to a bed; to provide suchconstructions wherein each seat back is of sufficient height to supportthe head as well as the back of the occupant; to provide suchconstructions in-which the upper ends of the-backs are supported by arail common thereto, said back rail and one of the aforesaid seat railsbeing removably secured to the supporting structure, and the remainingseat rail being provided with legs which are detachably engageable withthe floor of the associated structure; to provide such constructions inwhich the seat can be folded up against the backs and in which the legsare adjustable relative to the associated front rail so that they do notprotrude when the seat is folded; to provide such structures in whichthe spacing between the aforesaid side rails is maintained by spreadersof improved construction; to provide such constructions employing safetybelts of the general type used in aircraft practice, but having animproved connection to the seat structure; and to generally improve andsimplify the construction and arrangement of structures of the abovetype.

With the above as well as other and in certain cases more detailedobjects in view, preferred but illustrative embodiments of the inventionare shown in the accom-.

panying drawings, throughout the several views of which correspondingreference characters are used to designate corresponding parts, and inwhich:

Figure l is a view in perspective of an embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 1A is a fragmentary view of a variant of Fig. 1;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view, showing the structure of Fig. l in thefolded position;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing an alternative supporting structurefor the structure of Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view in horizontal transverse .section, of theseat structure of Fig. 1;

ice

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view illustrating details of the leg structures;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional view showing a releasable connectionbetween a leg structure and a floor fitting;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary view in perspective of a modified embodiment ofthe invention; and t Fig. 8 is a fragmentary view of a furthermodification of the invention.

It will be appreciated from a complete understanding of the presentinvention that, in the broader aspects, the improvements thereof may beutilized in widely differing seat and/or bed constructions and/orconvertible constructions, intended for widely differing types ofservice and/ or association with widely differing structures. Further,in a generic sense, certain of the present improve- I ments can beutilized independently of others of such improvements.

A preferred but illustrative application of the invention, is inproviding convertible seat and bed structures for use in aircraft of thetransport type; and more particularly in those instances where it isdesired that the seat and bed structures shall be readily removable fromand installable in the airplane structure, as well as being foldable orotherwise collapsible so that, when not in use, the structures do notinterfere with the otherwise usable cargo space. The present applicationdiscloses such an application of the invention, in an illustrative butnot in a limiting sense.

Referring first to Figs. 1 and 2, the improved seat and bed structure isillustrated as being arranged along one side of an associated airplane,the usual structural and fuselage surface elements of which aredesignated respectively as 10 and 12. The improved structure comprisesgenerally a seat or bed surface 14, which is suspended between laterallyspaced parallel side rails 16 and 18, and which is of suflicient widthand length to readily and comfortably accommodate an occupant in lyingposition lengthwise thereof. In addition, the structure defines aplurality of individual backs 20 and 22, the'lower end of each backbeing secured to the seat surface 14 as indicated at 24 and the upperend of each back being detachably secured to a back rail 26. As shown,rails 18 and 26 are removably secured to the ribs 19 by adjustableclamps 28. Clamps 28 are rigidly secured to the ribs 10 and may andpreferably do take the particular form described and claimed in thecopending application, Serial No. 554,204, filed September l5, 1944, bythe present applicants and Milton Fetterly. On the other hand, as shown,the front rail 16 is supported by a plurality of legs 30, the upper endswhereof are pivotally connected to the rail 16 and the lower endswhereof are detachably engageable with fittings 32 which are attached tothe floor 34 of the associated plane. As will be understood, thesefittings 32 may also serve as cargo anchor points. 1

Considering the above generally indicated elements in greater detail,the seat 14 may in the broader aspects of the invention be formed of anyof a wide variety of material. flexible material such as canvas. Toenable the use of such material, spreaders 36 are connected between theside rails 16 and 18 at a plurality of points spaced lengthwise of thestructure. As shown, the rear edge of the seat 14 is folded around theside rail 18, being provided with cutouts 38 to accommodate thespreaders, and the marginal edge 40 of the surface 14 being secured tosuch surface at a point spaced outwardly from the rail 18 by asubstantial amount, for a purpose mentioned below. The connectionbetween the marginal edge 40 and the body of the seat surface 14 may beand preferably is completed by stitching as indicated at 42.

Also as shown, the surface 14 is connected to the rail 16 looping thematerial therearound and stitching as indi cated at 44. As is alsoindicated, the connection to the rail 16 is interrupted at a pluralityof points 50 to ac- 22 may be formed of various materials, a flexiblebut 5 sturdy material such as canvas being preferred. In the-Preferably, seat 14 is formed of a durable,

broader'aspects, the backs may be either continuous or meshlike,meshlike constructions being preferred and 'two such meshed formationsbeing illustrated by the respective backs 20 and 22.

An important feature of the invention, resides in making the previouslymentioned connection 24' between the lower ends of the backs 20 and 22and the seat surface 14 at a point which falls between the rails 16 and18. This feature provides seat surface, of a depth, measured from therail 16 which is suitable for seat purposes. Such a depth, as will beunderstood, is undesirably narrow for bed purposes. With the presentconstruction, however, in which the upper ends of the backs 20 and 22are detachably connected to the rail 26, these backs may be dropped downbehind the seat surface '14, thereby affording a bed surface having awidth equal to the full spacing between the rails 16 and 18. Preferablyand as shown in Fig. 4, the lower edge of each back is provided with anattaching tab 52, of double thickness, and stitched through as indicatedat 54. The attaching tab 52 in turn is stitched as indicated at 56, tothe seat surface 14.

The upper end-of each back 2022 may be detachably connected to the rail26 in various ways. As shown, the backs 20 are provided with side strips60'which are turned over the rail '26 and whichmay be secured as by abuckle 62 to corresponding short strips 64. This buckled connectionenables adjustment of the amount of slack in each back 20 as will beunderstood, and also permits ready disconnection of each such back fromthe rail 26. Backs 22 may be similarly secured to the rail 26, and areillustrated as having threesuch connecting strips 66.

An important feature of the invention resides in giving the backs 20-22sufiicient height so that the head of the occupant is supported thereby.In the case of backs such as 22, the occupants head may engage eitherthe meshed or the continuous portions thereof. In the case of backs 20,head support is afforded by the upper cross strips 68.

An important but not always essential feature of the constructionresides in proportioning the widths of the respective backs so that theyregister with the bays defined by the successive fuselage ribs 10. Withsuch proportioning, suchribs are preventedfrom interfering with freeflexing of-the backs when in use.

'In accordance with usual aircraft practice, the present structure ispreferably provided with safety belts 70. An important feature of theconstruction resides 'in securing the rear ends of'these belts to-theseat structure'in such a way as to achieve a snubbing eifect. Moreparticularly, as is shown in Fig. 4, each safety belt portion 70 isturned around the rail 18, and its end is sewed to the seat surface '14.As indicated, this connection may beeife'cted by thejpreviouslymentioned stitching 56.

As will be best appreciatedby consideration of "Figs. 1 'a'n'd*4, thesafety'belts'70 contribute to the improved operation of the present seatconstruction. When the safety belts are use, i. e., buckled around thebody of a person seated on surface 14,-they areplaced in tension andtheytendto'rnove withthepersons body. There is friction between'thebelts 70 andthe loops of the seat 14 which pass over the rear rail 18.This friction acts as ashock'abso'rber'to-check impact'loads on both thebelts andits stitches as well as on the seat 14. It'will be seen thattension in the belts 70 is'transrnitted to the 'seatthrough the stitches56 and'thatit acts. in opposition to tension in the seat which resultsfrom the weight of the person sitting on it. The .safety'belts 70therefore create a'spring effect tending to yieldably raise the body ofthe person-sitting .on the seat 14 and thus add to the comfort of theunit. lnview of their connection to the seat 14, the belts70take some oftheload applied to the seat-and when-theyare secured at joint'52 it willbe seen that to this extent they relieveload on the short sections ofthe seat 14 between the back sections and 22 and the rear rail 18.

As' illustrated, the upper ends of the legs 30, which may be andpreferably are'formedof tubular'stock, are provided with fittings 80,-which define short sleevelike portions 82, within which=the ra'il'16-is -received,.the'-ind-icated construction beingone in which rail 16is freely rotatable =w-ithinaeach such sleeve 82. In the constructionnowbeing described, the respective sleeves 82 are provided with inwardlyprojecting bosses 8'4 which provide bearings toreceive pins -86- bywhich thecorresponding-ends-of the spreaders 36'are connected to the 1261 16. The individualspreaderlegs straddle the bosses '84.

The other ends of the spreaders 36 are provided with fittingsQO, whichdefine sleeve-like portions 92, within which the rail 18 is freelyrotatable.

It will be noticed that the spreaders 36 are illustrated as being ofdouble construction, although the single construction of Fig. 7 may alsobe utilized. A particular feature of the invention resides in giving thespreaders 36 a downwardly bowed character, so that they do not interferewith free flexing of the surface 14 when used asa bed. If, as isindicated in Fig. 1A, and spreaders 37 are utilized, such spreaders mayalso serve as caps for the rails 16-18. Such end spreaders may be eitherbowed or straight.

In the present embodiment, the lower ends of the legs 30 are providedwith fittings 100, detachably secured thereto by through bolts 102. Thebody of each fitting, which may be formed, for example, as a diecasting, defines vertically extending diametrically opposite slots 104,within which latches 1 06 are pivotally secured by pins 108. Adjacentthe upper ends, the slots 104 are joined by an enlarged chamber 110, theupper end whereof receives the leg 30. Chamber also receives acompression spring 112 which acts between the latches 106 and urges theupper ends thereof apart. A limit to such separating movement isafforded, when the fitting is inactive, .by stopportions 114, which aredisposed to engage the lower end of the leg 30. Latches 106 are providedwith fiugergportions 116, which may be engaged to press the upper endsthereof, thereby separating the lower and hooked ends 118 sufficientlyfar to pass over the headed retaining element :120 which is rigidlysecured to the base of the depressed floor plate 32. When so engaged thehooked portions 118 'lie behind and in latching relation to the annularshoulder 132 provided on the retaining element 120.

The embodiment of Fig. 3 is illustrated as being a duplicate of that ofFigs. 1 and 2 with the exception that in-this casethe rails 18 and 26are supported, through bracingsmembers 134, byuprights 136. As in thefirst instance, however, .rail .16is supported by the associated legs.30. .As :will be understood, Fig. 3 illustrates the adaptability of.the present constructions to locations otherthan those'immediatelyadjacent an associated wall surface.

vThe.embo'dime nt.ofjEig. 7 may and preferably does duplicate theembodiment of Figs. 1 and 2 with the exception first, thatinthisjinstance the spreaders are of single construction and thespreaders140 and legs 30 are :provided with individual connections afforded bysleeves,142 "and .1144, to the rail '16. The use of individualconnections is advantageous for many reasons. For example, it enables anadjustment of the seat tension in the manner described and claimed inthe aforesaid copendingapplication. In addition, it enables a spacingbetween the .legs which differs from that between the spreaders. Suchdif erent spacing may be needed, for example, to accommodate the seatstructure to the 10- cations of 'thefiOOI fittings 32. In Fig. 7, also,the marginaledge "40is adjacent the junction 24, which affords asomewhat more'secure connection of the back to the seat.

The'embodimentof 'Fig.-:8 pr.ovides an adjustment of the'efiectivedepthof each seat. More particularly, in this embodimentgthelower'end of each seat back is secured to'a loop of-material 1'52which-passes around the.seat"surface'-1'4. "By-releasing the buckle 154loop 152 may'be-moved-to 'bringtheback 150 nearer to or fartherfromeither one'of therails '16 and 18.

'I'n-utilizing'the aforesaid structures, it will be appreciated thatthey. may readily beapplied to and removed fromtherassociated structureand that they may readily beconvertedforeither-bed or seat use, and thatwhen not inuse" they mayreadily be folded to an out-of-the-way position.With particular reference to Figs. 1 and 2, as an-"example," it'will beappreciated that the seat structure may be removed as a-whole simply byreleasing the leg fittings IOO -fmm the -fioor plates 32 and byreleasing rails 18 and.,26 from their associated wall fittings 28. Aninstalling operationis, of course, just the reverse. Toconvertthestructure for bed purposes, it is only necessary to disconnectthe backs from the rail 26 and allow them 'to' fall 'downhbehind thesurface 14. Again, in folding-thestrueture it isonl-y necessary-torelease fittings 1430 from the floor plates 32, whereupon the-seat 14can be swung upwardly: to 'thepo'sition 'of Fig. 2. Following suchswinging, legs 30 may be turned to the out-ofthe-way position indicatedin Fig. 2. Alternatively, with the construction of Fig. 7, the legs 30may either be turned to the indicated position or may be dropped down soas to hang vertically downwardly from the rail 16.

Although only several specific embodiments of the invention have beendescribed in detail, it will be appreciated that various modificationsin the form, number, and arrangement of the parts may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a combined bed and seat structure for detachable connection toassociated means having a floor and supporting parts elevated above thefloor, said structure comprising laterally spaced elongated front andrear side rails, flexible material extending between and connected tothe rails, said material forming an elongated bed surface and aplurality of seat surfaces, a plurality of seat backs each connected atits lower end to said flexible material at a point spaced outwardly fromsaid rear rail, means adapting the upper ends of said backs forreleasable connection to certain of said elevated parts, safety beltmeans having inner ends snubbed around the rear rail and connected tosaid structure forwardly of said rear rail.

2. For use in an airplane, a seat structure comprising directlyconnected canvaslike seat and back portions, said back portion includingan upper support which in its operative position is connected tosuitable means on the upright side wall of the airplane, swingablymovable front support means including legs for said seat portion withdetachably connectible means to engage and be carried by the airplanefloor, said seat portion including a rear support spaced rearwardly fromthe lower end of said back portion and in its operative positionconnected to suitable means on said upright side wall of the airplane,and flexible tension connecting means acting between said seat rearsupport and the rear of said seat portion and the lower connected end ofsaid back portion, whereby said seat portion may be swung up againstsaid airplane side wall with a flexible collapse of said back portion topermit said swinging without disconnecting the said back from its uppersupport, said seat structure being tensioned by the weight of a seatedperson, said rear support in its normal operative position including aloop of the canvaslike seat portion around said suitable means on theupright side wall, an elongated flexible strap member adapted tosecuringly engage the seated person and in its normal operative positionbeing looped around said suitable means to transmit load thereto by beltaction and secured to the undersurface of said canvaslike seat portionto also transmit directly load thereto adjacent to its said connectionto said back portion.

3. A fold up, lightweight airplane seat structure comprising, a seatsurface member extending horizontally in its operative position havingleg means foldably connected thereto adjacent its front edge and havingpivotal securing means located adjacent its rear edge for connection tosaid airplane wall structure to permit upward swinging of said surfacefrom said operative position to lie adjacent said airplane side wall, aback extending upwardly from and supporting said seat surface member ata location intermediate its front and rear edges, and having securingmeans adjacent its upper end to connect to said airplane wall structure,said back being entirely flexible to permit collapse thereof upon upwardswinging of said seating surface to fold up said seat structure, a frontrail, said seat surface member being of flexible sheetlike materialhaving front and rear loops, said front loop embracing the front railand said rear loop comprising said pivotal securing means and in itsoperative position embracing a suitable rear rail on the side wall, saidseat structure also including spacers extending between and connected tosaid front rail and pivotally connected to said suitable rear rail topermit said seat surface member together with said spacers to swing upabout said suitable rear rail, and flexible elongated straplike memberssecured directly to the underside of said flexible seat surface memberand embracing in their normal operative position the said suitable rearrail in a loop to transmit some load thereto and thence to the airplaneside wall structure.

4. In a collapsible light weight seat structure adapted to be secured tosuitable means along the inner upright sidewall of a vehicle, thecombination of a flexible sheetlike means providing a seating surface,front support means connected to and supporting the front edge of saidsheetlike means, the rear of said sheetlike means having swingableconnecting means for connection to said suitable means to permitswinging of the seat structure about said suitable means, and flexiblesafety belts secured to the underside of said sheetlike means forward ofand passing around said swingable connecting means and adapted toembrace a person seated on the topside of said sheetlike means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,033,779 Monk Mar. 10, 1936 2,391,051 Windsor Dec. 18, 1945 2,394,523Pancoe Feb. 5, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS 16,293 Australia Oct. 18, 1928610,584 Germany Mar. 13, 1935

